Hantz Financial Services Inc. Trims Holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. trimmed its position in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,580 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Fifth Third Bancorp were worth $6,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Park National Corp OH raised its stake in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.0% in the second quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 41,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,514,000 after purchasing an additional 5,411 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 15.1% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 71,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,078,000 after acquiring an additional 9,444 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,254,000. BDF Gestion purchased a new position in Fifth Third Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,837,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Fifth Third Bancorp by 13.6% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 460,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,776,000 after acquiring an additional 55,081 shares in the last quarter. 83.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FITB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Baird R W cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com cut Fifth Third Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Fifth Third Bancorp from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Fifth Third Bancorp from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.62.

Fifth Third Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FITB opened at $48.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $44.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.23 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.21. Fifth Third Bancorp has a 1 year low of $28.29 and a 1 year high of $49.07.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 16.58%. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fifth Third Bancorp will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. This is a positive change from Fifth Third Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Fifth Third Bancorp’s payout ratio is 49.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fifth Third Bancorp news, EVP Kristine R. Garrett sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $327,525.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,441,720.71. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fifth Third Bancorp Company Profile

Fifth Third Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Fifth Third Bank, National Association that engages in the provision of a range of financial products and services in the United States. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, Consumer and Small Business Banking, and Wealth and Asset Management.